You as a Company Secretary in Practice (PCS) are asked by the Managing Director of a client company to explain the need for Compliance Management in his company. Explain.

Need for Compliance Management Every company needs to follow laws and regulations enacted by Central and State Governments or such other regulator from time to time. Corporate compliance is an ongoing process, and businesses especially ones that have incorporated under any statue need to make sure that they are following the rules set in place. In every organization top executive plays a significant role in complying with multiple rules and regulations under different laws. Many companies are adopting comprehensive compliance plans to address emerging regulatory paradigm and those fail to address the new regulations, pay huge fines, incur punitive restrictions on their operations and loose shareholders confidence by reduced share value which in turn damage the reputation of their businesses. Increased liability and regulatory oversight has amplified risk to appoint where it demands continuous evaluation of compliance management systems. Onerous responsibility to guide to the management for compliance with the relevant laws casts upon the Company Secretaries. They have to advise companies in totality to provide full, timely and intelligible information. To enable companies to put in place an effective Compliance Management System, Company Secretaries should ensure that companies: Adhere to necessary industry and Government regulations. Change business processes according to legislative change. Realign resources to meet compliance deadlines. React quickly and cost-effectively if regulations change.